The governors of a number of states, including New York and New Jersey, recently imposed 21-day quarantines on health care workers returning to the United States from regions of the world where they may have cared for patients with Ebola virus disease. We understand their motivation for this policy — to protect the citizens of their states from contracting this often-fatal illness. This approach, however, is not scientifically based, is unfair and unwise, and will impede essential efforts to stop these awful outbreaks of Ebola disease at their source, which is the only satisfactory goal. The governors’ action is like driving a carpet tack with a sledgehammer: it gets the job done but overall is more destructive than beneficial.

Read the whole thing here, and stop living your life sprinting from one crisis spelling imminent doom to another. In other words, stop being this:

There are a hundred reasons why I don’t want to write this post, but having been essentially called out personally, I feel compelled to do so.

Yesterday, I received communications from numerous people asking why WBEN’s Tom Bauerle was saying I have a “crush” on him, or that I’m otherwise gay for him. At around 12:10 yesterday, I emailed him at tom@wben.com to ask if this was true. It’s been 22 hours and the cowardly, gun-toting, little mulleted creature doesn’t have the balls to respond. I figured as much. He’s a coward who hangs up on people who disagree with him because it might take him off-message. He cannot defend his indefensible mouth-shits.

This morning, Bauerle hosted uncredentialed deadbeat Doug Hagmann so that they could engage in a circle-jerk, determining whose “Islam is incompatible with western culture” dick was bigger. On and on and on they went, alternating between making statements and agreeing with each other. Wow.

And then, later on, Bauerle informed his (masochistic) Muslim listeners – both of them – that they shouldn’t worry, he’d be against any mobs attacking Muslims living and working peacefully among us here in WNY. No, no, no. He won’t curry some ignoramus being whipped by him into an anti-Muslim-all-Muslims-want-to-kill-Christians-democracy-America frenzy and then acting on it. That just won’t do.

And Bauerle‘s argument as to why Islam is incompatible with Western civilization? He cites examples like beheadings, honor killings, stonings, and other primitive behaviors that take place in backwards-ass third-world places. But does the Pakistani doctor stone anybody? Does the Bosnian factory worker behead anyone? If the bad acts of some Muslims makes Islam incompatible with Western Democracy, we should ask the same question of people of German heritage. After all, in a mere dozen years, the Germans killed way more innocent people than any Islamic-majority country has in recent memory. Therefore, all Germans must be indicted for the crimes of the German people, and their nation is incompatible with Western civilization, no? That’s the exact argument Bauerle is making.

Turning now to the burning of the Koran by some imbecile down in Florida.

Bauerle grabbed his crayon and construction paper to scrawl some sort of nonsense on WBEN’s website. Let’s take a look at it.

By now, you’ve heard about an anti-Muslim Koran burning scheduled for this Saturday, September 11 in Gainesville, Florida.

This protest has drawn severe fire and sanctimonious rebukes.

Maybe it’s me, but some folks are more upset about the Koran burning than they’ve been about the murder of 3,000 innocents nine years ago in New York, Washington and a field in Pennsylvania.

One of the comments at WBEN’s site said it perfectly: “What an idiot. At least the Wizard of Oz has only one straw man”. Bauerle doesn’t name “some folks” being more upset over this Koran burning bullshit than they were about 9/11, but as we’ve learned over the past few weeks, Tom Bauerle is not above repeatedly using audiotape of a man being murdered on 9/11/01 to make the point that all Muslims are anti-American “islamofascists”.

For the record, I believe this Christian minister has every right to burn as many Korans as he wishes. For all I care, he can roast bacon over the flames while wearing a pork chop loin cloth and singing Christmas Carols.

Why?

It is protected speech, which the left has no problem defending when our national flag is abused.

That being said, I think burning Korans, Bibles, US flags and even The Communist Manifesto of Karl Marx is stupid, unproductive and hateful.

There are many doctrines in print, and I’ve never been inclined to consign any of them to flames, no matter how loathsome to freedom and decency they may be.

Of course it’s protected speech. No one is debating whether this Koran burning is permitted under the 1st Amendment, just as any American has a 1st Amendment right not to be stopped by the government from criticizing this burning of the Koran. Bauerle clearly here misunderstands the 1st Amendment and what it means, but he also takes a swipe at the Koran as being “loathsome to freedom and decency”. Has he ever read it? Have you? Have you read the Bible? Is there stuff in there that doesn’t wash in this day and age? Of course there is.

While many of the media, political and religious elites have excoriated the minister and his church -even employing the old “let’s get his kids to say what a jerk he is” tactic- I want to explain why more than a few Americans are not rushing to throw stones at Rev. Jones.

Ah, strawmen. “Many of the media” – unnamed, uncited, unsourced bullshit. After saying that this minister has a never-disputed 1st Amendment right to burn the Koran, and after saying he thinks it’s stupid, now he’s getting into why he is totally cool with it.

You’ve heard the question a million times: “How will such and such American insensitivity play on the Arab/Muslim street?”

Let me try to explain the view from the Judeo-Christian USA “street.”

There’s a street? Before getting on the air to walk it back, he’s quite obviously alluding to rioting we see on the news from the Middle East, and subliminally suggesting that the same should happen here. Because our civilization should be judged against the lowest common denominator.

For years, people of faith have been subjected to increasingly radical and hard-core intolerance of traditional Western religious beliefs.

Do you remember when the State of Alabama was told by Uncle Sam to remove the Ten Commandments from the rotunda of the state house?

No, I don’t.

I remember when Judge Roy Moore personally installed a granite monument of the 10 Commandments in the rotunda of the Supreme Court of Alabama, and there was a lawsuit and a trial, and the court determined that the installation of a Christian monument in a state court violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution. Interesting that Bauerle (correctly) supports and acknowledges the 1st Amendment speech rights of some whacko to burn a Koran, but ignores the parts of the Constitution – the parts of that same Amendment to the Constitution – that are inconvenient for him, like the Establishment Clause.

Do you recall the hate speech of the left when Christians were appalled by the photographs of the crucifix in a jar of urine? The delightful “artwork” known as Piss Christ was even paid for by taxpayer money stolen from us by the government and awarded to an artist.

I don’t recall “hate speech” – another unsourced strawman argument from Bauerle. I recall there being a vigorous debate over respecting religion, use of NEA funds, and free speech.

What is bizarre is that I could be fined by the FCC for simply stating on-air the name of this artwork that our government took our money to subsidize.

No, you can’t. A federal court recently struck down the FCC’s indecency policy as overly broad. Using “piss” on the air could arguably be considered indecent if the FCC determined that it constitutes “language or material that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium, sexual or excretory organs or activities.” I don’t think “piss” is quite that shocking to the conscience, and the FCC is currently enjoined from enforcing this unconstitutionally vague rule.

The Virgin Mary covered with dung? Deal with it: it’s “art.”

Strawman.

Even private businesses have replaced “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays” while at the same time urgently reminding us how few days there are until December 25th.

My alma mater, SUNY/Buffalo, welcomed the Dalai Lama with open arms and taxpayer dollars a few years ago. I can remember no Christian leader afforded such respect at UB.

The Dalai Lama is the head of state in exile of Tibet, a Chinese province that lost its autonomy and freedom over time. Here’s the list of past UB speakers. A pretty diverse group. And I love how he got the jump on O’Reilly for the whole “Happy Holidays” faux outrage that comes up every December.

The left has been snarky toward Christians for being “homophobic” and “anti-women,” but oddly seems to have fallen in love with Islam.

Apparently, hanging homosexuals in Iran and shooting women to death in Afghanistan under sharia law does not register on the left’s usually-so-sensitive outrage meter.

More strawmen. No examples, no citations. Just a blanket statement about alleged “snark” and a love affair with Islam. Hanging homosexuals in Iran doesn’t register on the left’s outrage meter? There was plenty of outrage. Plenty. Shooting women to death in Afghanistan goes ignored? I did a Google search for that and didn’t get a hit within the first three pages. But I’ll note that most Bauerle types point to stoning of women, so we’ll roll with that instead.

Stoning as punishment has a long history, and was practiced quite commonly in ancient Israel for mostly sexual crimes, but also for cursing one’s parents, rebelling against one’s parents, idolatry, and Shabbath-breaking. It’s in the Bible.

Today, it is practiced in Sudan, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and Somalia, pursuant to Sharia law for adultery. Interesting that Bauerle argues continually that Muslims want to institute Sharia Law in America, when they don’t even apply it in every Muslim country.

But in this country, we kill criminals. The United States joins such enlightened beacons of hope and prosperity like: the PRC, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Sudan, Vietnam, Syria, Japan, Egypt, Libya, Bangladesh, Thailand, Singapore, Botswana, Malaysia, and North Korea.

I never quite understand why conservatives like Bauerle point to the despicable practices of third world hellholes and use them examples of just how ok it is for the US to violate its own laws, Constitution, and principles. We hold ourselves up to a higher standard than Yemen or Saudi. You know, there are exactly as many synagogues in Vatican City as there are in Mecca.

In any event, are we to believe that Tom Bauerle is suddenly some sort of spokesidiot for women’s rights, equality, gay marriage, etc?

In short, more than a few of us see a war against our traditional beliefs at the same time as we are lectured about the need to be tolerant of other religions.

Jews and Christians can rightly ask: “Where is the tolerance for us?”

Lectured by whom, and what sort of straw are they made of? In what way are Jews or Christians not tolerated in the United States? What a load of unsourced, unsupported nonsense.

Against this backdrop, a so-called “moderate Imam” (snicker) and useful idiots on the left propose and support an Islamic Center at Ground Zero. A building close enough to the terror outrage to have had landing gear crash through its roof can be safely called a Ground Zero building.

We are told that the Cordoba Project (significant name) is designed to reach out to the people of New York, yet Imam Rauf has been deaf to the protests of people who are angry and concerned about the site.

In this country, people are free to build whatever they want wherever they want, pursuant to the law. We are a nation of laws, and there is no law preventing Imam Rauf, a Sufi Muslim (read about it), from building a community center in lower Manhattan.

While the Koran burning story is the raging controversy of the moment, the larger issue for thinking Americans is:
Can our form of government and freedoms co-exist with a religious and political system which regards anything BUT Islam and sharia as evil?

Of course it can.

What a seriously fucking stupid question. Religions may be “tolerant” of other religions, but each and every one of them (except maybe the UUs) think that the other religions are all wrong, if not evil and going to hell.

The arguments being made about Islam and Muslims are no different from anti-Catholic rhetoric from the turn of the last century, or against Jews throughout history. They’re different. They’re the source of all our ills. They’re at war against us and our way of life. Same old shit dug up by shit-diggers throughout history. Like I said earlier, through this argument, Bauerle advocates for the expulsion of Muslims from the United States. (Maybe just camps?) After all, their faith “regards anything BUT Islam and sharia as evil”.

Therefore, the owner of the corner store? Back to Yemen. The Pakistani physician? GTFO. Bosnian laborer? See ya. Your faith prohibits you from living peacefully in the United States, according to some cretin on the radio.

Mr. Kipling said it best:
East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.

Just like a demagogue to cherry-pick from a poem one line that reinforces a weak point. Would that Mr. Bauerle would read on, just a few extra lines.

Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet,
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,
When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!

Terror is nothing new. Demagoguery is nothing new. Hatred is nothing new. Fear is nothing new. Fear and hatred of different faiths or ethnicities is nothing new. But good people are good people, and bad people are bad people. The good battles the bad every day, and it matters not whether the good is Christian or Muslim, and it matters not whether the bad is German or Chinese. It is important to do battle with the bad and to confront it when it threatens. It’s time for good people to address the threats and hatred from people like Tom Bauerle.

I didn’t see the cut version of Jon Stewart on Bill O’Reilly’s Factor the other night, but Gawker reviewed the entire, uncut version on Fox’s website and brings us highlights from the parts that didn’t make it to air. Which include many of Stewart’s strongest arguments about Fox News’ descent into hysterical, emotion-driven rage. Seriously excellent discussion. My favorite quotes:

On discussing the insanity of Neil Cavuto, Stewart explains that Cavuto’s schtick is posing ridiculous questions like: is Obama a Stalinist, while posting a picture of Stalin over his shoulder:

I know what this is. I come from Jersey—it’s the same thing: “I’m not saying your mother’s a whore. I’m just saying she has sex for money. With people.” [F]ox News used to be all about, you don’t criticize a president during wartime. It’s unacceptable, it’s treasonous, it gives aid and comfort to the enemy. All of a sudden, for some reason you can run out there and say, “Barack Obama is destroying the fabric of this country.”

Stewart gets O’Reilly to admit that he thinks Obama is a socialist tyrant. Stewart retorts:

How many tyrants do you know that really suffer because they can’t get cloture?

On the panic attack hysterical Fox-driven conservative terror over Khalid Sheikh Muhammad being tried on the US mainland:

He’s not Magneto—Khalid Sheikh Muhammad isn’t going to sprout wings and fly out and start shooting buildings with lasers

Terrorism comes in many forms, from many sources. Today, we saw right wing terrorism continue apace because some anti-Semitic asshole decided to shoot up the Holocaust Museum, of all places. I don’t have the heart or the stomach to repeat here (or even link here) to the murderer’s horrible thoughts and writings, each one of which is no less violently disgusting than anything the most hardened al Qaeda terrorist might think or write.

It really does feel like 1993 all over again, with the radical fringe right wingers coming out of the woodwork to spark the RaHoWa and otherwise declare war on ZOG or whatever.

The United States will survive the lunatic violence from the fringe. But there will be more of this.

On the way home today, thinking about the Holocaust Museum shooting, I put CNN on the radio. I was curious as to what Fox News might have to say, so I tuned in to hear Glenn Beck and his guests yell about how the free enterprise system is dead because the feds bailed out GM and helped steer Chrysler towards Fiat. I especially liked the part about how the government has declared war against the people and our society.